Twilight Movie Review Description and Analysis by Fans of the Books!

After becoming embarrassingly obsessed with Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series I was almost hesitant to see the new movie of the film as I feared it wouldn’t live up to my high expectations. I’m sure some of you also felt the same way, as Twilight has become so important to so many people around the world.

First of all, despite early reviews slating the movie, Twilight is NOT a bad film. Catherine Hardwicke has stayed close to the book’s original plot and tried to please fans to the best of her ability, but that often comes across on camera as a bit of a mash up of styles, badly cut scenes and cheesy moments that made the audience laugh out loud as if it they were watching a comedy.

You are probably thinking ‘Hold on, I thought you said this wasn’t a bad movie’ and it’s really not, I promise but before we start on the movie’s good points let’s get the bad and slightly annoying points out of the way.

The first thing that struck me about Twilight were the vampires. You expect them to be pale (as described in the book) but come on!! When Edward and co step onto the screen they are white, like mortuary slab white. I hope in the sequel New Moon (Yes, it’s been confirmed!) we see them pale but not actually white. You’d think maybe the town would have sussed them out by now looking like that!

Secondly there is the scene where Edward and Bella meet in the classroom. You know, where Edward is supposed to (In the book) be a little bit strange with her, making her feel like she’s done something wrong, that he’s angry with her; but obviously its because he can’t handle being near her scent. Well clearly Hardwicke had been taking crazy pills the day of this shoot; because the scene is completely laughable. At one point Edward even covers his nose like she completely stinks. Seriously, the whole audience laughed at this part and it wasn’t supposed to be funny as far as I’m aware.

Thirdly – The special effects were poor, seriously poor. We all know Twilight was made on a budget though so I really hope that with a higher budget for New Moon they will have this issue under control. With some of the scenes they will have to film they are going to need it!

I’m also slightly disappointed with the casting of Jacob. I know all the fan girls will probably be cursing me at this point but as much as I adore Taylor Lautner, he just wasn’t how I had pictured Jacob. There are rumours circulating that he will be replaced in New Moon as it needs an older stockier looking Jacob. I’m not sure how I feel about this yet, as on one hand it could ruin the continuity of the film but on the other hand, for the way Jacobs’s character need’s to develop in New Moon it could be a real blessing in disguise.

Lastly, I’m sad that we didn’t see more of the Cullen family; they were amazing and perfectly cast in my opinion. I adored Jasper, even with his look of sever pain ALL the time (lol) and Rosalie is just as beautiful as we were lead to believe. Carlisle and Esme were fab and Alice was perfectly pixie like and adorable. Emmet was also great, bear like and protective as I’d imagined.

OK, now believe it or not there are some reasons why I loved Twilight, so let’s move onto those!

The Chemistry between Edward and Bella was amazing. Those critics who have described it as awkward obviously haven’t read the book and don’t understand how Edward is constantly fighting his feelings for Bella. The two both covey that aspect perfectly and it is a joy to watch their love develop on screen.

Robert Pattinson IS a fantastic Edward. I had heard so many reviews in which he’s been slated for bad acting but I honestly came out of the movie leaving any doubts about the casting of Edward’s character behind me. The more you see of him, the more he grows on you. The same goes for Bella (Kristen Stewart) who brings her character to life in a surprisingly refreshing way. Having seen interviews with her, I’d always thought she looked uncomfortable and almost unapproachable but in the movie she is great, even managing to convey Bella’s naturally clumsy nature to screen. The scene where she slips on the ice brought some much needed deliberate humour to the film.

As I mentioned previously, The Cullen family are amazing. They are every bit as captivating as they are in the pages of your book, and each and every one lives up to expectations. The baseball scene where they all get together really shows them in all their glory and left me dying to see more of them. I can’t wait to see their characters developed further in the coming movies!

Stephanie Meyer’s cameo (At the bar in the diner) was a fun moment for me, seeing her there was almost reassuring! I wonder if she will have cameo’s in all the movies or just this one.

James and Victoria are brilliant. The ‘bad’ Vampires are given a great footing and I am looking forward to seeing the real extent of Victoria’s evil personality come to light in New Moon.

The way I’m looking at this movie overall is that although it is not perfect, it is very watchable and enjoyable for fans of the books. Seeing your favourite characters on screen for the first time and debating with your friends whether they were as you had imagined has become part of the whole Twilight experience.

I like to see Twilight as a stepping stone to bigger and better things to come from New Moon and the rest of the books. With a new director on board for New Moon and a bigger budget for those all important special effects required for Jacob’s character to really shine, I can see it as a great attempt at bringing to life a classic that has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers from around the world. This movie deserved to be made, and it needs your support and positivity in order for it to carry on being a successful set of films and to prove just why we are all so passionate about the books and characters that Stephanie Meyer created.

6 Comments

i agree with everything you have said apart from one things, i am a new found fan of the twilight series and read the first book in 2 days

i am glad i read the book first, as the movie i felt did not flow as well as it could of but i guess she had to convey alot within ex amount of time

the only thing i had a problem with is that i didnt feel that both characters played the love story that well in the book its sooo intense not so much at the start of there relationship but once it gets started they are so passionate and its strong and very affectionate towards each other and that never really showed throughout the movie i liked both actors but didnt think they portrayed that passion towards each other very well

that was just my one little comment about the movie my friends absolutely loved it and have seen many of times however have not read the book and that is why i think, the movie is ok edward (robert pattinson) definately makes it for me

loved all the cullens and agree with you on the skin colour they were all excellent.
cannot wait for the next movie.

Thanks for your comment, and I definitely see where you are coming from with the love story element, it is such a hard thing to put on screen with the intensity of the books! Glad you enjoyed the movie though, bring on New Moon! :)

I agree its not a bad film, i loved it but only when i dont look at it in comparison to the books.
Re: the vampires – the thing that annoyed me mostly was Edward in the sunlight, he’s meant to dazzle not glitter a little…i could hardly make it out in the first scene they showed him in the sun. I look almost as glittery on a night out as he did there!!
In reference to special effects, i’d rather it stayed with the same style, i dont want the films going all hollywoodised on us fans and i definitly dont want big budget effects.
Also, Taylor Lautner NEEDS to remain as Jacob, i can’t stand it when new actors are brought in, he wasnt THAT bad – Jacob isnt really a big persona in the film, or the first book for that matter – it isnt until New Moon i actually gave him a thought other than ‘bugger off’.

We definitly need more cullen family, one of the things that irritated me was the lack of Cullen Backstory which you get in the book. they cut out how James knew Alice and Carlisle’s story. (having re-read Twilight and New Moon this week ive decided i 100% prefer the books to the film, not that you can really compare to two)

I only read the book Twilight this week (and so far I’m half way through New Moon) but both me and my daughter loved this film, particularly the baseball scene…although that could have had something to do with the music used on that scene – Muse are great.

I agree that the effects could have been much better, particularly his glittery-in-the-sunlight look which was not how I imagined it would look at all. I agree that on the whole the Cullens were well cast and my daughter (also called Alice, lol) loved Alice Cullen. Carlisle Cullen looked fab!

I thought that the two lead roles were very well played by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, Stewart in particular…but I do think that the love story didn’t have the intensity of the books – although that’s almost to be expected!

I also felt the the film avoided the trap of seeming too ‘self-consciously cool’, which was something I was worried about. I thought perhaps it would play up too much to the ‘too cool for school’ teen audience, but it didn’t. (If that makes sense, lol!)